Slide No' 1

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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project

• Date of TAC Presentation January 7, 2008
• Project Tracking
• ID Number (?)
• Location Department of Izabal, Guatemala
• Risk Level (?)
• Chapter Chicago Professional Chapter (CPC)
• Dates of Travel March, 2008

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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project

• Overall Project Objective
• Build a 96-foot suspended cable bridge over the
  El Benque River.

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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project

• Background of the project
• The Project is located in the Sierra de Santa
  Cruz Mountains, near the town of El Estor, in the
  department of Izabal, in the eastern part of
  Guatemala. The area has eight villages, each
  with approximately 30 families, or about 1,000
  people.

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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project

• Background of the project
• Access to El Estor for transportation of goods
  and crops requires travel across several bridges,
  one of which was a barbed-wire suspended bridge.
  That bridge collapsed under a fallen tree in
  2005. Accordingly, travel across the El Benque
  River requires traversing two steep, rocky banks
  plus the river.

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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project

• Present situation

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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
The old bridge
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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project

• Background of the project
• Travel currently is difficult for anyone, but
  especially for persons hauling goods or crops,
  other-abled persons such as the aged, and beasts
  of burden. A new bridge will improve safety at
  the crossing and help the villagers transport
  goods and crops. Additionally, merchants in El
  Estor will have improved access to trade with the
  villagers.

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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project

• Community Ownership
• Labor, construction, materials, etc. The
  villagers of El Quetzal will provide all labor
  and will provide transportation of materials to
  the site. They will gather sand and gravel for
  use in The Project prior to construction. They
  will also clear and prepare an area for camping
  by the Chapter volunteers and will construct a
  bodega for cooking and for storage of cement.
  They will also build a latrine.

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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
The contract with the villagers
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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project

• Community Ownership
• Labor organization The Chapters contact with
  the villagers will be through two levels. Ingrid
  Perez is a representative of TEACH and currently
  a resident of Chicago. She speaks English and
  Spanish. She will communicate with Olger Pop, a
  resident of El Estor. He is an agronomist
  employed by the local Catholic diocese and speaks
  Spanish and Qeqchi, the language of the
  villages.

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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project

• Community Ownership
• The bridge will be owned by the villages.

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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project

• Community Ownership
• Maintenance and repairs The villagers will be
  responsible for maintenance and repairs. It is
  anticipated that no maintenance will be
  necessary. Occasional repairs to the boards of
  the bridge might be necessary. Since the
  villagers will supply the lumber for the boards,
  by cutting and sawing local lumber, it is
  anticipated that they will have the skills to
  replace broken boards, using locally-available
  materials.

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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Cross-section of the river bank
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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project

• Assessment for future projects
• Site assessment for future phases None are
  anticipated at this time.
• The communitys main concerns Safe transit
  across the El Benque River.

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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project

• Design details
• The bridge will be constructed of eight braided
  steel cables, anchored in concrete on each bank
  of the river. Wooden planks will be attached to
  the cables for the walking surface.

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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project

• Building materials
• Steel cable
• Wooden planks
• Concrete

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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project

• Construction challenges and material transport
• The major concern will be transporting the
  construction materials to the site, which is
  fairly remote. The villagers have agreed to haul
  the materials, but the use of animals such as
  horses or donkeys may be necessary.

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Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project
Chicago Professional ChapterGuatemala Bridge
Project

• Safety and evacuation plans
• In the event of an emergency, the team would have
  to walk to the road (and carry someone if need
  be) and then either arrange a bus/ambulance to
  the nearest shelter/hospital correct. Each
  volunteer intends to obtain evacuation insurance.
  

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